Who Vacations to Chicago... Part 2

My mother kindly reminded me that I forgot to mention that the first Saturday that I was in town we all went out for pizza at Giordano's for my dad's birthday.  Other than the fact that Canon was pretty much refusing to consume anything other than chocolate milk and constantly throwing his crackers to the floor, I had a great time.  He was basically throwing a fit and I knew he needed to go to bed, but it was still fun to eat yummy food and laugh with family. I apologize to my dad for having forgotten to add this in the previous post.

Now, to continue where I left off...

Saturday evening was really fun to have so many people together.  The house was really full, but I wouldn't replace that night with anything else.  I thoroughly enjoyed talking with my brother Steve and his wife Maggie.  I don't get to see them or talk with them much, and it was a real treat.  We also all played a game called "Things" and all got a good laugh. (It was actually pretty hard with that many people, but it was a blast!)  I don't know how many more opportunities we'll get to all come together, so I count my blessings that I had the chance to let my baby meet so many of his aunts and uncles (even if he won't remember it)!

Sunday night was pretty fun too.  My brother David's wife (Aileen) and her daughter (Cherry) came back from the Philippines, where they're from and had been visiting for quite a while.  So we gathered as a family for a welcome home party.  Jeff made several things out of balloons- animals, hats, and a house that really ended up being more like a box but the kids had a grand ol' time playing with it.  We put up streamers, and David got Dora the Explorer decorations and cake.  Cherry was so excited to see all the Dora stuff and it was so great to see her smiling over everything.

Monday I don't remember doing a whole lot other than trying to take it calm.  I do remember that evening I planned to go out to dinner with a few friends of mine, and the rest of my family went out to eat somewhere else.  It was really nice to get with Chuck (finally), his girlfriend Lisa, and Lauren (again) for a dinner at Chili's.  It may not have been an entire evening, but to have a calm time with the attention on my boy was fun for me.  (Ok, ok so maybe I'm a little prideful, but I love to show off my little guy and have people tell me how cute he is.  He really enjoys the attention too, so it was good all around... except for maybe the car-ride home since he really doesn't like being in the car.)

Tuesday was the day we all went home, so it had its moments of chaos, but not many.  My afternoon flight was timed pretty well because it allowed Canon to have his full nap before heading to the airport.  However, he was so hyper in the airport and on the plane.  I knew he would be getting tired by the end of the flight, but that would just make him even more restless.  At first I took a seat near the middle/front of the plane in a middle seat, but then someone suggested that there might be more empty seats in the back.  I headed toward the back and took a spot with two open seats.  Then the girl in that row offered to move to the next row back to allow me to have the whole row to myself.  That was so nice of her.  It really made all the difference to have a bit of leg room to allow Canon to get down every once in a while.  Of course, every time I let him down he wanted to walk out into the aisle (all at bad timings too), but it was so great to have all three seats to ourselves.  He was pretty difficult for me to handle, but that's because I was trying to keep him happy and quite.  Everyone else on the plane thought that he did great.  (Phew!)  I tell you though, by the time we got back to Massachusetts, Canon was not as excited to see Mark as I had hoped he would be... but that's because he was so sleepy.  I was glad to be home though!

Mary and Sammy right before leaving for the airport.

I have to say that as glad as I was to be home, I'm still so grateful to my brother Rob for those plane tickets to go visit family in Bolingbrook, IL.  It was great to be with my parents again, to see all the new colors they've painted in their house.  I loved spending time with Jeff and Mary with their kids.  Getting to know them as their personalities are really shining, it was great to see how different they are from Canon and each other.  I am amazed at how well her children behave during prayers and just their happy attitudes toward so many things.  Sammy is such a cuddle-bug, I'm kinda jealous.  Just seeing how Jeff and Mary interact with their kids and each other- I think they're an inspiration... or a mental kick in the pants to tell myself that there are things I ought to do better on a regular basis.  I hope that I can find a way to teach my children to listen as well as theirs do.  I also never realized how loud my own child is until this trip.  You mean... not all kids just stand there and shout at the top of their lungs when they get excited about something, or just because they want to hear the sound of their own voice?  Huh, go figure!  I guess you learn something new everyday.  Thanks again, Rob, for the tickets.  It was a great time!

us with Dan and Bonnie just after the Dora party

Who vacations to Chicago in January???

Who vacations to Chicago in January?  Well, apparently Canon and I do.  For Christmas my brother Rob bought me a plane ticket to visit family in January.  Since Canon is still free and a lap child, he comes with me pretty easily.  We couldn't really afford to buy Mark a companion ticket, so he's still in Massachusetts while I visit my family in Illinois.  It's been a lot of fun to hang out with my parents, my brother and his family, and to see other family too.

Much of what has gone on so far is kind of blur in my memory, but here's what I can tell you about our trip up until now.

I arrived on Friday afternoon. The snow started falling on our way home from the airport, and it just did not let up.  Jeff and Mary with their 3 boys were supposed to come in a few hours later, but due to the weather, driving conditions, and traffic, they arrived really late that night.  Canon was already in bed. 

Saturday, I woke up to this adorable face!

I just love his bed head!

I think we just hung out around the house all day, and I think it was Canon's first experience with falling down a flight of stairs too. (poor kid!)  I know that night I went to a birthday party for a friend from high school.  After I put Canon to bed, I made my way to the bowling alley, and it was a blast.  I expected to be there for only about an hour tops...but I was there for about 2 hours.  There were so many people from high school that I haven't seen in the last decade, so I spent a lot of time just catching up with everyone there I knew.   Yay for old-time friends!  (Now I almost feel like I don't even need to go to my 10-year high school reunion this summer. Ha ha!)

Sunday we went to church (duh!) and saw so many old friends and mentors.  I always wish that there was more time in between classes so that I can talk more with people.  After church we had to stick around for a little while because Jeff accidentally left the lights on and killed the car's battery.  We couldn't get our other car close enough to jump it, so I took Canon inside to feed him while they experimented with using two sets of jumper cables together.  That apparently worked because they got the car up and running again. 

I don't really remember anything special about Monday... we were probably just hanging out around the house. Nothing special... although that was probably the day that Canon fell down the stairs 3 times. (Yeah, he likes the stairs, and there' only so much you can do when all he wants to do is practice climbing up and down them.  We borrowed a baby gate, but I'd rather he get his "falling" done and out of the way before we go back to MA where our stairs are really steep and extra dangerous.  He's doing better, but we still need to keep an eye on him.  Getting him to stop and turn around before stepping off the edge is the hard part.  He just has no fear, that kid!)

On Tuesday we went to the Dupage Children's Museum, which was really a ton of fun for all of us.  Of course the 4 little guys really enjoyed it, but I half think my two older brothers enjoyed themselves more.  I felt bad for poor Canon though.  The time we arrived at the museum was about when he should've been going down for a nap (that was my fault because I took too long to get ready), and he totally crashed in the car on the way home.  Here are a few fun shots from the DCM.

 Enjoying himself in the Little Explorer's section

 "Ooh, velcro gears!"

 Splashing away!

"Look, Mommy!  A waterfall!"

That night my mother was scheduled to work at the Chicago LDS Temple.  So we planned as a family to all go that night.  It was a good thing we did too because the entire endowment session was made up of my brother and his wife and the witness couple, my father, and me.  My mother followed along in that session, so afterwards we all went to participate in some sealings.  We then went to Cheddar's for dessert and rushed home to our babysitters.  It so nice to be able to just get away with the family to the Temple and not really have to worry about bedtime with the baby.  Apparently Canon did give the babysitters any trouble and he went down to bed really easily.  (That was a relief becuase he really didn't get a nap that afternoon.  Yes, he crashed in the car on the way home from the museum, but he didn't sleep longer than about 30 minutes total.  He woke up and would not go back down shortly after getting home.)  The other kids were more of a handful, but the babysitters seemed to be able to handle it just fine and everyone was safe and sound once we got home- after 10pm.

We haven't really had any more family outings, but I took Canon with me to go visit a few high school friends.  Wednesday evening I went to see Lauren Miller (Chuck was supposed to be there, but he bailed out due to deadlines at work! Hopefully we'll see him this next Monday!) and her parents.  I kept Canon out a bit later than I should've, but it was good to see her and show off my little handsome guy to her.  Thursday evening I took him to go see Doug and Stephanie Carlisle and to meet their newest little baby.  It was really great to be able to catch-up with them and to talk as though we'd never been apart.  It was nice to also get a little break away from the chaos of rowdy boys.  True, Doug and Steph have more kids than my brother does, but their kids are quieter, and not quite as rambunctious.  Canon is not used to being around so many children, especially ones that are older than he is, so I think it was a much needed break for him too.

Friday we hung around the house all day.  We babysat a family friend's daughter because he was really sick and his wife was at work.  It wasn't really that much harder since she just played with the other kids, but that's a lot of kids in one house.  My parents went out to a movie that afternoon as a date and Mary wasn't feeling well pretty much the whole day.  I have been missing Mark this whole trip, but Friday was the hardest so far.  I guess it hasn't really felt like much of a vacation for me because I don't really get a break from Canon...plus I have Jeff and Mary's kids who, although they are angels, are a lot of work and don't allow for much rest, even when Canon's napping. (I think that's the main reason I haven't been able to blog until now...nor have I been able to really remember much more of what happened from day to day.)  Mark made me promise that I would actually play more with my family and not just sit around reading all day and night.  (Those who know me understand how ironic that statement is... but I've actually started and finished Catching Fire, which is the 2nd book to the Hunger Games series.  I had to borrow Mockingjay from a friend so that I can continue before I go home.)  Reading has been my only relief on this trip... it's a good thing I had a good book!

Today is Saturday.  Right now, Canon is napping and tonight is our big family get-together.  We will have 6 of the 8 siblings all together.  We've been looking forward to this all week...let's just hope that the house will hold together with that many people! :-D

The Holidays

My cameras have been pretty fickle lately, so I don't really have photos to post.  Sorry, this is just a summary of what has been happening over the past month or so.

We didn't get to travel as a family for Christmas this year, but we did enjoy a Christmas Eve together as our own little family.  We read the nativity story from the Bible while drinking egg nog (Canon's favorite part) and sitting by the Christmas tree (Canon loves the lit up tree at night too).  We tried to help Canon get excited about Santa Claus coming that night, but honestly, I think the excitement will just have to wait until next year.  He just doesn't get the whole "opening presents is totally awesome and tons of fun" concept just yet.

This past Christmas morning was probably the last relaxing Christmas morning I will get for a LONG time.  We ate a nice breakfast skillet dish and opened our presents by the tree.  Canon got tons of clothes because he really needed them, but it turns out that he's already starting to outgrow them.  (Why don't they make a size between 12 months and 18 months?  They were doing it by 3 months all along, and now I don't get a 15 month option?  What gives?!?!)  Canon also got a bunch of fun toys from family, one of which took all his attention away from his other presents and he didn't want to open any more.  He just wanted to sit and play with it.  (Thanks Brian and Tiff!)  Another significant gift that Canon received was a boat toy that played fun sounds and a cute little song.  It was just the ticket to motivate Canon to go from the baby tub to the big tub.  (I've tried to do this a couple times, but he would just scream and wail, and then when I tried to get him back into the baby tub, he just refused to bathe...screaming his head off!)  He now bathes in the regular tub.

Mark got a jump rope, a work-out video for the jump rope, some new white shirts fo work, a few books, and a Kindle eReader.  He seems to really like the Kindle, and he uses it every day. It fits right into his suit jacket inside pocket, so he also downloaded the scriptures onto it and brings it to church.  He seems to be happy with his gifts.

I got three new outfits, some new baking sheets and whisks (which I really needed) and a couple of work-out videos (which I really appreciate, by the way! None of this- "Oh, I don't think you need to change...you look beautiful the way you are..." kind of comments here.  I want to work out and lose a few pounds, and videos are the only way I'll end up doing it.  YESSS!!!)  I also got some fun jewelry, so that really adds to my new outfits. Overall we got really nice loot for Christmas, and it took us about a week to finally get all our stuff out of that room. 

Christmas afternoon we had an invitation to attend Christmas dinner with the family of a friend from church.  It was so nice to be included with a larger family this year.  We enjoyed playing games, chit-chatting, and just being with fun people.  It made us a little homesick for family to be close-by, but I think that it would've been worse if we were at home without anyone.  It was a great Christmas.  (Thanks Cousineau Family!)

For New Years Eve we invited a bunch of people from church over for a party.  It turned out that all but one family either backed-out or already had plans. At least that one family came though.  It was still a lot of fun because we had a group big enough to play Bang!.  They also introduced us to a game... I think it's called Ruckus.  Overall, the party wasn't as big as we had originally anticipated, but it was still a good time. (Thanks Hatch Family!)

I hope you all had a great Christmas and are making your 2011 a fabulous year!

Our 6th Wedding Anniversary

I know it was crazy for us to get married a week before Christmas, and that December was a terrible month to be outside for pictures in Nauvoo, Illinois.  However, that was the day we chose to get married, and now 6 years later, Mark and I couldn't be happier together.  Sure, there are tough times, but we work through them together, and the Lord has always put us on the right path...somehow.

This past Saturday was a really nice day.  It would have been better if I got to sleep in, but with a baby that refuses to sleep in himself, that was just not going to happen. I wasn't sure if I wanted Mark to open his gift at our date out, or at home...but I decided that I couldn't wait any longer.  So after we ate breakfast we exchanged gifts.  He knew that I spent several many hours working on this present, but Mark wasn't really planning on getting gifts for each other this year.  So I told him that all I wanted was for him to do something romantic... it didn't matter if it didn't cost anything.  Well, he totally pulled through.  It was simple, but it made me cry.  He had written a short paragraph telling me how much he appreciated being married to me and then listed 10 things that he loved about me.  (Just so you know, he actually told me that it was a much longer paragraph, and the list was originally about 35 things, but he couldn't get it to look good on one page.  So he had to crop it and take out all the funny parts and just make it more serious.)  He used my scrapbooking software and printed it out onto card stock, and then he rolled it up like a scroll and tied a ribbon around.

 It was very sweet.  It made me cry! :-D

Then it was his turn to open my gift:

I took his box of pictures from him mission, contacted his mom for any other materials I needed from his mission, and I went through all his mission stuff to find anything that I could to make it a great scrapbook. I even covered the binder all by myself with that Chinese fabric I bought at Joann's. 

 I started working on it General Conference weekend, and I finished it with about a week or so to spare.  I was so excited when I finished it, and I think he was pretty pleased with it.  In fact, after he looked through it for the first time, I saw that he was a bit teary-eyed. YES!!  That's what I was going for!  He thought it was such a great present that he went and got a couple Christmas presents from under the tree to give to me as my anniversary gift instead.  "They were gifts that put me over budget on what I was supposed to spend on you for Christmas, but if I give them to you for our anniversary, then I'm not going over budget on Christmas!  Besides, these are the best ones to give for an anniversary anyway!"  He got me those Dead Sea Mineral Body Scrub and Nail Pampering Kit.  I was really excited because I knew that I really like that kind of stuff, but I wouldn't ever spend the money to buy it for myself.  That was a really great idea to give me!  Woohoo!  He felt like he had to make up the difference because my gift was so much better than his.  Whatever!  I'm was just so happy that really appreciated that gift.  (In fact, he liked it so much that he wanted to bring it to Church to show off...which he did...as did I!  We are both so excited about how well it turned out!)  Check out the slideshow on the right sidebar to get a closer look at the scrapbook. (Sorry for the glare in most of the pictures, but the camera will never be a good substitute for seeing it in person.)

 Mark and I had talked all week about what we might want to do for our anniversary this year to celebrate, but it wasn't until that day that we finally just made a decision and ran with it.  Our friend Laura Hawley from our ward had us watching her daughter the day before, so she was happy to watch Canon while we went out to eat.  We left as soon as we could to eat at Texas Roadhouse.  It was a great meal, and the waiter was just dandy, but the wait to sit down took too long.  We ended up missing the showtime for the movie we wanted by about a 1/2 hour.  The next showing of anything that we might have been interested in wasn't for another 1 1/2 hours.  Also, Mark was starting to feel a bit tired, and we had a Netflix movie waiting to be watched at home already, so we just decided to not spend any more money and just go home. Besides, cuddling on the couch is so much more comfortable than those seats at the theater...even on our awful couches.  We had dinner and a movie, and didn't have to worry about the responsibility of putting the baby to bed.  What a great night!

Thanks for a great night, honey, and for an amazing 6 years!  I love you!  Let's do it again next year! :-D

November Went by Too Quickly, And December Is Halfway Over!!!

I apologize to all those who were sitting on the edge of your seats... waiting for Kat to update her blog.  November really got away from me, more or less, I just didn't find time to go online.  In all honesty, once Canon turned 1 year old at the beginning of the month, he started working on the whole "walking" thing for real.  A week later he was actually walking, and he's been keeping me on my toes ever since.

Also, I've been spending all (and I mean ALL) my spare time (an no, evenings with Mark don't count as my spare time) working on a "secret project."  Okay, okay!  So it's really only been a secret from Mark.  There are a ton of people from our ward and family who know what I've been doing, but I can't mention it here... not until after this weekend.  If you can, wait a week for me to post  about it on the blog.  However, if you're dying to know, just give me a call.   Our 6th wedding anniversary is this Saturday, and I spent hours and hours on the gift I am giving him.  I started working on it the weekend of General Conference, and it took me 2 months to complete.

There have been a few wonderful events that have happened since Halloween that are worth mentioning.  Canon's birthday came and went, and we had a really fun party for him (and that was posted on the baby blog in a timely manner... unlike this post).  Later in the month came Thanksgiving.  We were hoping to be able to host this year since we didn't host last year because Canon was only 3 weeks old.  Well, we ended up not finding anyone who didn't already have plans and were happy to accept an invitation to our former neighbors' place- the Stoutenburgs.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with their friends.  Canon had a few new people to play with, which he absolutely loved.  Mark had new people to talk sports and politics with, which he seemed to love too.  And I truly appreciated a chance to get together with a group of people who were of devout faith, but not part of my own religion.  It was great to be able to share my testimony with those who were open to hear what I had to say.  Thanksgiving this year was a day to reflect on the blessings I've been given, and I gained a new appreciation for the blessings of the Gospel, my country, and my family.

Then, early in December there was a FABULOUS weekly special on Delta.com.  Mark's mother and Aunt Colette were able to fly out here for a weekend.  It truly was a whirlwind of a visit, but it was amazing to have them here.  We did a ton of Christmas shopping to be able to send our gifts with them instead of paying for shipping them to Utah. We had so much fun with them that I pretty much forgot to take any pictures.  I took a  bunch while Colette was cutting Canon's hair (his very first haircut ever!!), but that was it. Sad! :(  Thank you so much for the lovely visit.  It just makes us more homesick for family to be around.

Once all that was over it was time to prepare for the Ward Christmas Party.  Technically my calling has been disbanded by the leadership of the Church, but since we already had this party in the works, the bishopric decided to let me run with it for this event.  We held our ward party on Dec. 10th, and it was a pretty successful event.  We had over 150 people for our ham dinner, and our Variety Show had over 25 acts.  It went a little long, but the whole ward seemed to really enjoy themselves.  We also featured a Giving Tree for the ward.  For 2 weeks or so, the ward has an opportunity to serve each other by picking an ornament with a gift idea, purchasing that gift and giving it to the bishop, who would then distribute those gifts to the people in the ward.

As of right now, we're getting ready for our anniversary celebration this Saturday, and then it's Christmas!!  I'm sure there will be more posts soon.  Until then, enjoy the holiday spirit of Christmas!

Halloween Craziness

Ok, I'm so sorry to say that I did NOT get any pictures of our costumes.  I'm the Activities Chairman for our ward, so I was the one in charge for our Halloween party.  We did a Trunk-or-Treat, and I was busy the whole night, trying to make sure that all of the stations were taken care of and that things were running smoothly.  So I never got around to taking any pictures.  Canon went as Tigger and I was dressed in my Queen of Hearts Card costume (that I've used almost every year since Senior year of high school).  Mark was going to dress up, but then when he made to get ready, he discovered that he no longer had a particular black shirt anymore... so that costume wasn't going to work.  So... he just carried around the little Tigger all night instead.  Today for church I thought it would be inappropriate for Canon to be dressed as Tigger, but we did dress him in a black turtle neck and black pants and attached a white sticker rectangle to his collar.  He was a priest.  I figured, although maybe breeching sacrilegious, it was more appropriate for church attendance. (I'll include a picture of Canon in his Tigger costume to the baby blog within the next couple days.  Stay posted!)

The Trunk-or-Treat activity was a total hit!  It was my first activity since I was called, and I really only had a couple weeks to put it all together.  I had a couple volunteers to be part of my committee, and it all turned out GREAT!  We did a donut-eating contest, a cookie-decorating station with sugar cookies and frosting and sprinkles, and a "Ghost Busters" game which was a fishing game where the kids fished for a ghost tootsie pop on their hooks.  We had prizes, candy, balloons, and a huge crowd.  Tons of people told me that I did a great job pulling it all together, so I feel confident that the ward appreciated the effort put into it.  It's been a really crazy week leading up to last night, and it was really quite fun... but I think I've asked too much from Canon with all the driving I've had to do to get all the materials... skipped naps are no fun for a little one.  Now that it's all over and done, I hope to have a more calm week and focus on giving Canon lots of attention.

Oh, and now that it's Halloween, that means that Canon's first birthday is tomorrow.  Can you believe it?!?!?  Canon is a WHOLE YEAR old now... tomorrow!  I can hardly believe it!  I'm going to make a little post on his blog tomorrow, but we're having his birthday party on Nov. 6th.  This way we were able to get some friends from Boston to join us too!  I'm looking forward to a time to catch up with people.  Yay for birthdays!

Happy Halloween, and Happy Birthday to Canon!

Who's the Turkey Now?

So on Thursday of last week I went upstairs to get Canon from his nap.  I looked out the window and saw something that made my jaw drop.  I ran with Canon down the stairs to hurry and get the camera to take pictures to prove what I saw.  I really couldn't believe my eyes.

That's right.  I saw LIVE TURKEYS just strutting down my sidewalk.  I would've taken more pictures, but my battery died... or the memory card was full... one or the other.  But seriously!!  I was about ready to call the local news to tell them about it, thinking maybe they had escaped from a local petting zoo or something and this call would help them locate the missing turkeys.  I didn't have time to look up the phone number on the internet because I had to leave to go pick up Mark from work.  Oh well, next time, I guess!

I was super excited about it, and when I showed Mark the pictures he was just as amused.  That night I went to book club and showed the hostess the pictures on my camera, and do you know how she responded?  "Oh, yeah that's cool.  Wild turkeys are all over these parts.  Didn't you know?  One year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving there was a whole flock of them at the church building strutting their stuff."

Ok, so I guess it wasn't that impressive afterall.  Maybe it's a good thing I didn't call the news station, huh?  I just never figured that there were wild turkeys anymore.  I assumed they were all domesticated and bred on farms these days.  Guess I'm the big turkey now! *blushes*